Access openings in warehouse, manufacturing and industrial settings are often secured by overhead (vertically traveling) closures. One popular type of overhead closures are sectional overhead doors. Sectional overhead doors are manufactured from horizontally hinged panels that roll into an overhead position on tracks, usually spring-assisted. Each panel of the sectional overhead door has its own connection to the door track. This increases reliability and robustness compared to monolithic doors which have only a couple of track connections for the whole panel.
A sectional overhead door is provided with a powered operator (motor) operatively connected to a panel to power the door to an open or closed position, or it is manually opened and closed, for example with a handle, a looped chain, or crank.
When doors are installed in high traffic areas, for example, shipping and receiving areas the door can get damaged if struck by, for example, a fork lift transporting cargo. This damage can be caused not only by the forklift itself but also by the cargo being trucked by the lift. If the door become damaged the closure may become non-operational with resultant access opening downtime.
Accordingly, there is still a continuing need for improved door protection designs. The present invention fulfills this need and further provides related advantages.